Lived in New Mexico most of my life, now in Colorado.
I know no one who likes it.
I also disliked Jeff Foxworthy when he had his 15 minutes.
I have lived in Seattle my entire life and I love the show. Although, I will admit that outside of a couple of transplanted Texans that I know, I’m the only person in my circle of friends that does enjoy it.
(My roommate gave me a look like I’d dragged in a dead animal carcass when I bought the Season 1 DVD set.)
Texan here. I love the show and I agree that if you don’t live in this part of the country you might not get or appreciate a lot of the jokes and references.
My Dad is a computer programmer, but in every other respect he IS Hank Hill.
I find a lot of what you said foolish at best and offensive at worst.
I suppose I am what you refer to as a “snooty”, “snobbish”," fast-lane, East Coast Beltway type" who lives in Philly and I love King of the Hill. My wife loves King of the Hill. Many, but not all, of my friends love it as well. Someone in this snobbish place must like it since it is on here everyday at 6:30pm.
To say that King of the Hill is an “inside joke” for those in the Heartland is ignorant. I have never been to the Heartland. In fact, I have never been anywhere between Detroit and Las Vegas, and I can “get” King of the Hill.
King of the Hill, like almost every other show, is about the characters and the way they relate to each other and react to situations. The setting of the show contributes to the reations of the characters and to some of the humor, but I contend that King of the Hill shows that the people from the Heartland, while having some superficial and humorous nuiances to life, are like everyone else.
Following your theory, nobody outside snobbish, East Coasters would “get” Friends either. Because everyone else is out of touch with New York and what is it like to live life at that pace.
I do remember Hank Hill in Beavis and Butthead… As Mr…um… er… but the point is that the memory is there.
I can actually relate to some of the characters, because they are more human than say… the Simpsons (which gets a 10 on the Jen-likey scale). Peggy is like some people I’ve met that isn’t very great at something, but she’s oblivious to it and keeps going because she loves it. Hank is not too emotional, but he he feels very storngly about the things he values. Cotton isn’t too far off from some old men I know. I think the characters’ personalities are done really well.
I don’t know much abou Texas, but watching the show gives me a nice picture.
[Hank Hill]I tell you what…[/Hank Hill]
You’re post is thisclose to being offensive to us “snooty” East Coasters kmg365. But au contraire I say; you’re just out of touch!
Tom Anderson from B&B was a kind of precursor to Hank Hill, but they’re not the same. Hank is basically a younger, more likable version of Anderson.
To answer the OP, I live in LA, and know a few people who get KotH and quite a few who don’t. My appreciation is probably helped by my having family in the central valley. They are much like the residents of Arlen in many ways. And they have very nice lawns.
I live in Minnesota, and me and all my friends love the show. I wonder if appreciating the show has less to do with location than with appreciating animated shows (I know a lot of people who dismiss things like The Simpsons, Futurama and King of the Hill for being “cartoons”).
There’s also the fact that no single type of comedy works for everyone, animated or live-action.
KOTH seems fairly popular here in the UK (tho’ C4 did what they usually do with American shows - scheduled it all over the place, no consistent slot at all.)
Maybe it’s because Hank’s map of the world only features Texas, America and Britain
I live about an hour from Alvin and can readily identify with most of the portrayed eccentricities. I don’t set the VCR for it but will watch for a bit if I catch it surfing. Yeah, I find it pretty amusing.
Agreed (and that goes for what you said, too, Otto). But the question was-----wait, going back, I guess I misunderstood the question. It does say "does anyone remember Hank Hill’s beginnings. . " but I guess I read it as “Does anyone remember the beginnings of Hank Hill on. . .” So nevermind.
Oh, Friends is a good example of what it’s like for young singles to live in NYC? That’s news to me b/c as for me and my friends, we just can’t seem to “get” how it is plausibe for a bunch of marginally employed slackers to live in the same non-rent-controlled 4,000+ square-foot loft-condos/classic sixes for almost a decade now in Greenwich Village/Upper West Side/Manhattan – or wherever the hell those six losers live – on the nether salaries they make.
But apparently this makes SO much sense to everyone else since “Friends” is SO typical of life for up-and-coming waiters and waitresses on the make in New York – NOT! (Read: Friends=Hollywood.)
So following my theory, the only people who would probably “get” or relate to Friends are Hollywood scriptwriters and execs naive enough to think that we wouldn’t recognize Tinsel Town’s delusional take on life in NYC, or anywhere else for that matter. The exception to this, of course, are those who individuals already deluded enough to believe that Friends is realistic or representational of the life of wage earners in NYC.
On the other hand, that is exactly why people either totally love KOTH or completely hate it, with very few inbetweens. My only explanation as to why KOTH endears itself to some audiences, while repelling others, could be its non-Tinsel-Town, non-Coastal, provincial take on life that resounds deeply in middle America and other countries that have strong rural/suburban cultures, like the U.K.
Suburban So. Californian here. I like it quite a lot. Well, except for the urge to slap Peggy that I get occassionally.
Ditto to what slu said. I also live in the Philly area (my whole life) and I like KOTH, I get the jokes, and it seems to be pretty popular around here. I even have it programmed in my TIVO. And I also don’t care for the “snooty East Coasters” remark.
It’s pretty popular here in central Florida, as far as I can tell.
Transplanted Texan living in New York here. An episode of KOTH is like going back home for half an hour, without having to pay for plane fare. My father-in-law adds “I’ll tell you what” to sentences almost as much as Hank.
There is a lot of Texas in KotH, but I agree that the suburban vibe of it dominates - it could be set almost anywhere in the USA with very minor modifications. I really relate to it, having spent most of my adult life in suburban Texas.
And I have no problem at all understanding Boomhauer. He’s actually got some of the best lines on the show.
I can’t figure out why it’s animated. It should be live action, as nothing happens that particularly lends itself to it being a cartoon.
I also do not watch it, because, for me, rednecks are not funny.
Monica’s apartment is rent-controlled.
Saw a billboard for it recently proclaiming: “In Texas, it’s reality TV!” Well, not quite, but some of the jokes are a bit close to home, like if you’ve ever been a musician and watched Spinal Tap. Anyway, I like it.
[hijack] Not to belabor the point kmg365, but I’m from the east coast (NYC metro area), and I don’t know a single person who refers to KotH as a trailer trash show.
Just how many friends do you have from the east coast and/or New York? Are they all snobby? Or are you just referring to those that don’t like the show as being the snobby ones? IMHO people who make crass, uneducated generalizations are the snobby ones - did that go over your head?[/hijack]
Back to topic, Boomhauer is my favorite character, though Bobby cracks me up.